FateAgain
by SSBM Freak
Summary: In an alternate universe the holy grail war continues, 20 years have passed since Emiya Shirou "won" the previous war.
1. Week 1 Day 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night.

* * *

I am dreaming. In my dream I see nothing but swords. Among the swords stands a single man. I cannot see his face. All that exists is the silhouette. This shadow is the only one who exists in this hill of swords.  
If this man is all that exists. Then what am I? The shadow stares at me. I turn my head and walk away.  
It's always the same dream. Every day the face seems to get clearer but the dream never changes. I see someone standing in a hill of swords and I turn away and walk away.  
As if I'm on a mission. As if my life had been ripped away and this single mission is my only purpose for clinging to this world.  
I feel like I understand this dream, Even if I have never experienced it, it feels so familiar..

I wake up. The familiar dream disappears from my head. I head down the hallway of the Japanese style house and arrive in the kitchen. There stands Tohsaka cooking breakfast. "Waffles, Biscuits? It's rare to see you cook something other than Chinese." "Well I figured you'd be bored of spicy stuff about now." Tohsaka murmurs. "Breakfast will be ready in about 20 minutes. Go ahead and get ready."  
I nod my head in agreement and head to the empty standalone building in the back. "Here I am following in my dad's footsteps. I wonder if I'm about where he was at my age.." Several minutes pass and I'm almost finished.  
"ninety-eight.. ninet.y..nine..one hundred." I head to the bath to quickly clean the sweat off my body and then I head back into the kitchen. "Uhm, here's breakfast. You like your waffles a little black right?"  
I look at her in confusion. "Uhm?.." The biscuits were done perfectly but the waffles.. how could I describe it? You couldn't even call them waffles anymore. "How the hell do you screw up waffles!?"  
"I didn't screw them up! I just gave them more character!" Tohsaka declares. "Besides, your dad made breakfast every morning! You haven't made it for me even once!" "Fine then! I'll make you breakfast tomorrow, but you gotta make dinner tonight!"  
We're always like this, cooking is one thing me and my aunt could never agree on. Outside of our daily morning arguments we actually get along very well.

"Well I'm off to school!" "Have fun! Remember! We have to prepare for the summoning in two nights!"

I almost forgot, The Holy Grail War. A war between magus. Several weeks ago I obtained the command seals on my left hand that mark me as a master. My aunt and dad both participated in it and my dad won.  
If I want to follow in my dad's footsteps I have to win it as well.. but.. when the time comes..

Can I really kill someone?..

If possible I would like the war to end without anyone getting hurt, though I know that's an impossibility I will cling onto that hope.

I walk down the same road. I look up at the western style houses. My aunt used to live in one of the western style mansions before she started taking care of me.  
She could've taken me to the mansion she lived in but for some reason she seems far more attached to the old Emiya household. I continue to walk down my usual road.

I meet up with my friends Akihiro and Kazumi. Apparently their mother was a good friend of my aunt's. Mitsuzuri Kazumi was always getting bullied when she was younger. She's a fun person to be around and she needs someone to help her when her brother isn't around so I've sticked with her. I become kind of attached to her, I wouldn't forgive myself if she got hurt. Since I started hanging out with her I immediately met her brother. Her brother Mitsuzuri Akihio first thought that I was trying to hit on her and tried to drive me off, however Kazumi immediately stood up for me.  
Akihio was shocked, apparently that was the first time she ever stood up for anyone including herself. Her brother naturally assumed I was a really good person. Me and his personalities were similar, though our methods were different. We became good friends very quickly.

"Good morning Izanagi." Kazumi says with a bright smile on her face.

"G-Good morning Kazumi!" I hesitate for a moment. Even though I've only noticed just now she's becoming really beautiful. She's so different now compared that little girl I made friends with.  
I'm starting to think of her less as a person and more as a woman.

"Hey! Did ya forget about me!?" Akihio exclaims.

"Oh sorry, good morning Akihio."  
Akihio doesn't look amused. I've noticed that he hasn't been wearing his sleeves rolled up like he usually does. I can barely see the tip of his hands now. I feel like asking but I know I shouldn't.

We talk about pointless stuff as we head our way to school.

We part ways at the gate and head to our classes. Homeroom starts. I take notes and answer questions and before I know it it's lunch time.

I join up with my friends and we continue to talk about pointless stuff. The day just continues like this.  
It's Saturday so classes end early, Akihio needed to rush somewhere because he forgot something important so I had to walk Kazumi to her house. We just walk and neither of us talk. If I'm alone with her like this I can't help but notice how much she is maturing. I try to think of something to say. "Uhm-" we both say in unison.  
"You first." "No you first Iza." She only calls me by that nickname when we are alone. "Well I was just thinking, if that didn't happen I wouldn't have met you and Akihio. If we weren't all such oddballs we wouldn't be together like this. My life would probably be boring without you two. But I was just trying to find something to say. What were you going to say?"  
"Well, I want to know why you help and stand up for people you don't have any attachments to." She asks.  
"Well, I guess it would be because I want to follow in my father's footsteps.. I want to become a great man like my father, a great person should help those in need right?" "Is there any other reason?" "I guess so, I want to show people that there is still hope no matter what situation they're in. I guess you could say I want to save the world in my own way." Kazumi's eyes light up. "That sounds amazing.. even someone like me could make a difference in the world if I were to think like that!" Her smile is as bright as ever but as she faces me there is a certain warmness to it.

Tohsaka said to me that if I fight in the war without a purpose then I have no hope of surviving. I think I found my purpose, I will win this war to protect everyone, that way I can keep on seeing that beautiful warm smile. If someone thinks of hurting that smile, then I can resolve to kill.

I arrive at her house. It's located right where the western and Japanese houses divide. She and her brother lives in a small Japanese house. We say our goodbyes and I head to my home.

I arrive at my own home, I smell fried rice and shredded chicken with bean sprouts, she could've done more but she just wants breakfast out of me.  
Tohsaka serves dinner. I eat the food at a steady pace when all of a sudden.. "So Izanagi, what do you think of Kazumi?" my face suddenly goes red and I almost choke on my food. Atleast now I know she keeps in contact with her old friend.  
"Well.. she's a good friend, um.. and.." I'm interrupted by Tohsaka. "Ah I see, good, she's out of your league anyways." "What's that supposed to mean!?" I respond.  
"I've been talking with Ayako and apparently her daughter always bring you up at dinnertime. She's probably talking about you right now." "Yeah? So?" I'm their only friends so I would assume that would be normal. "Idiot, don't go trying to rationalize it.." Tohsaka murmurs.  
I can only think that Ayako told her more, Tohsaka knows something I don't or is trying to play with me head. I don't understand her sometimes.  
Our dinner continues like normal, I head to my room finish my homework and study. At 10:00 PM I head to bed. Tomorrow's Sunday and I have no schedule. I hope fate has something nice planned for me before everything goes to hell Monday night.


	2. Week 1 Day 2

I am dreaming.  
In my dream I see nothing but swords. Among the swords stands a single man. I cannot see his face. All that exists is the sillouhette. This shadow is the only one who exists in this hill of swords.  
If this man is all that exists. Then what am I? The shadow stares at me. I turn my head and walk away.  
It's always the same dream. Today I can somewhat see the face. I've never seen it before but it looks so familiar. The familiar face I've never once laid eyes on dissapears.

I Wake up the same time as usual. I head into the dojo and do my morning exercises. I finish and head into the kitchen and begin working on. I make Miso Soup and some rice. Tohsaka comes into the dining room and appears to have just woken up.  
Tohsaka isn't really a morning person, she usually wakes up earlier than I do so she can start up in the morning. She drags herself to the table and I serve her breakfast.  
Without her normal energy we don't get into an argument. We finish breakfast and it seems Tohsaka has woken up. "Your cooking could still use a little work." "Says the woman who can't even cook waffles." There it is, we realize we are starting it out of habit and we stop. "Izanagi, this is your last day in awhile you'll get to relax.. you should spend it with your friends. I mean, you'll be seeing me everyday regardless, so you should enjoy this time with someone else.."  
There's truth in what she says. "Thank you, Tohsaka." "Why are you still so formal with me after all these years!? Call me Rin!" "Alright, I'll see you later Rin!" It seems she said something else but I ignore it and head out the door.

* * *

"Good, she's still asleep. That priest told me to meet him at the church right? I hope he can explain what this thing on my hand is.. he told me not to let anyone see it.. I guess I'm getting into something pretty deep.."  
The boy readies his pocket knife and head towards the church.

* * *

I head to the Mitsuzuri household. I glance at the old Tohsaka mansion down the road before heading towards the door.  
Their mother Mitsuzuri Ayako greets me. "Haven't seen you around here in awhile!" Tohsaka said that she used to be quite a tomboy. I guess that informal style of speaking supports it.  
"I wanted to see if Akihio or Kazumi were here." "Kazumi just woke up, she's taking a shower right now. Akihio went out for something. He said that it was important and he'd probably be out for a few hours."  
Great, what am I going to do.. I guess I could spend the day with Kazumi.. "So I guess I'll wait until she's done taking a shower?" "Nah, go ahead, come in." I sit in the living room. The walls are painted white, there's a coffee table in the center of the room and a couch on one side of the table with a television on the other. It was perhaps the most stereotypically normal living room I have ever seen.  
Ayako asks me questions about school and we talk for about 10 minutes and I hear footsteps coming down the hallway.

I turn and see Kazumi wearing nothing but a bathrobe. This appears to be natural to her as she doesn't appear the least bit embarrassed coming down.  
She finally glances towards the living room and sees me looking at her. She says nothing, her breathing stops and her face turns bright red. She runs back up the stairs and looks ready to cry.  
"Oh I forgot, she likes to relax in the living room like that for a little bit before getting dressed." Ayako just laughs it off. I still think it's a little cruel.  
I look like I don't care but I'm actually embarassed as well. After a couple more minutes Kazumi walks in wearing a sky blue dress acting like nothing happened.  
"Well I came over because I wanted to have fun today. If you want we could spend the day together." Kazumi blushes at my proposal. "Spending time alone with you?.." she sits quietly for a bit. "Wow, the way things were going I thought you were never going to take the initiative."  
I ignore what Ayako says and I wait for Kazumi's response. "Sure!" Her timidness dissapears instantly and she agrees happily. "Mom, if Akihio comes back before we do tell him that Iza is with me so he doesn't have to worry." "Will do. Have fun you two." We head to downtown to find something to do.

* * *

The boy heads towards the doors to the church. He hesitates for a moment and then enters.  
There is no one in the room. He grips his pocket knife and sits down.

* * *

"Where should we go?" I ask her.  
"How about to the arcade?" I stand there for a moment dumbfounded, who would have thought she would have a hobby like that.. well her mother's a tomboy and the only person besides for me she hangs out with is her brother.  
We head to the arcade and play various games for about an hour and then we leave. She looks surprisingly happy. In the end we played a couple of Type-MOON fighters. She won more games than I did.  
"I'm wondering.. does your brother take you to the arcades a lot?" "Nah, it's more like I bring him. I don't know why but I enjoy them a lot." I look at my watch, it's about noon.  
"Hey do you want to get some lunch?" she pauses for a moment and her face reddens a bit. "Uhm. Sure. Hey I heard there's a great chinese restaurant over in the shopping district by your house." "Sure let's go,"  
We head back towards my house and head to the shopping district. We enter the chinese restaurant.

* * *

Footsteps are heard towards the entrance of the church. The door cracks open and in walks a man dressed up in black priest robes and a small golden cross.  
"You're going to tell me about this symbol on my hand and why I have it right?"  
The man looks towards the boy without prejiduce. "That's right, of course I have to test if you're worthy of keeping that command seal."  
What appears to be a european sword slips out from his robes. He throws the blade at the boy but the boy is faster, instinctualy the boy dodges to the side. The man throws two more blades. The boy dodges the first only to be moving into the path of the second.  
The boy takes out his pocket knife and changes the course of the blade to minimize the damage. The boy rushes at the pirest but is immediately stopped by a blade near his throat. The blade doesn't belong to the priest but to a black figure with a skull-like mask.  
"That's enough, I was just testing you and it looks like you passed." The priest says as though it were perfectly natural. "I will tell you about the command seal placed on your hand." The boy puts away his knife and the black figure completely dissapears.  
"In this world there are people called magus, we strive to reach "the record" the place where all things begin and end. That command seal leads to one of those paths. The Holy Grail War of Fuyuki City is about to take place."  
The boy still appears confused. "The command seal on your hand is proof that you have been chosen to fight in the Holy Grail War. It appears you aren't a magus which is why I'm telling you all this. Under normal circumstances I would kill you for knowing too much."  
The boy understands the severity of the situation. For some reason he has been forced to fight in a war. "The masters summon familiars called Servants. These Servants are powerful heroes from the past, present, and future. The more well known the servant the more powerful it is, likewise there are their powers they had when they were alive."  
The boy seems to understand that the black figure is one of those "Servants." "Normally a magus would use an artifact to summon a servant but since you are not a magus your servant will be summoned randomly.. however, I could shift things into your favor."  
"How so?.." "Tomorrow night come back to this church and I will give you an artifact that will give you a powerful servant. Naturally my help doesn't come free." "So, what is it you want?" "The Holy Grail War is a battle to the death between all the masters and servants. Naturally this would include me and you. However alliances are usually formed to work our way through the war."  
"So you want to work together until it's just the two of us?" "No, I'm not the most trustworthy person to be working with, if there is a threat in this war that is many times greater than us then you will work together with me to defeat it."  
The priest's offer is impossible to refuse. "You simply have to agree. I am not to be harmed by you nor you by me unless such a threat comes around you understand?"  
I agree. "Good then I will accept a geas and give you one of the same nature. I agree under the ground that you agree."  
"A geas?" "It simply means that we are bound to uphold our agreement. It's a lot more powerful than a written or verbal contract."  
"Fine, then I agree." "Good, I guess I should finish telling you about the war, if a master dies then their servant can join up with a master that doesn't. Of course the reverse holds true. The war is over when all but one servant is gone. Servants dissapear when they are without a master for a certain amount of time or when they take a fatal injury. The winner gets to have their wish granted." Wish granted? The boy thinks to himself. Though they wont be there to help eachother the whole time the boy knows he has made an incredibly valuable ally.  
"Alright, I'll meet you monday night." "Come here at about 6:00 PM.. It'll take about 6 hours to prepare you." "Very well. See you later priest."  
The boy begins walking his way home. The priest stays inside, the normally emotionless priest stares nostalgically at the stained glass. A small smirk expressing his joy is all that can be seen on his face.

* * *

We're enjoying the food, it's incredibly spicy. Kuzumi looks like she is enjoying it.. seems she likes spicy food too. She seems to have noticed her bad table manners as she swallows her food and slows down a bit looking a little embarrassed. I don't care, I would take it as a great compliment if she ate my food like that.  
"Iza.. I think this is the most fun I've ever had with you." I blush a bit. "Well we usually don't hangout like this. Your brother is usually around too." "I think it would be nice if just the two of us could have fun like this more often."  
She blushes a bit but gives me her warm smile. Any man would fall in love with her if she just flashed that smile at them. If possible I want her to keep smiling like that.  
If it comes down to it, I wonder if I would choose to follow her or my father?

We finish our food and I begin to walk her home. We pass by the divide and I walk into the house with her.  
Ayako is sitting next to Akihio bandaging his arm. "Akihio did you get into another fight again?" "Yeah, some guys wouldn't get away from this girl no matter what she said. I dind't want her to be in any danger so I fought them myself. One of them pulled a knife on me and got a pretty deep cut but I'm alright."  
Figures, that sounds like something he'd do. "So you two have fun while I was gone?" "Yeah, actually I think it was a little funner without you around." "What's that supposed to mean!? Don't talk to an injured man like that!"  
"Brother calm down!" Ayako just seems to be laughing at us. We talk about pointless stuff and we told him about all the stuff we did without him. After a couple of hours I head home.  
"Goodbye Iza." "See you later Kazumi, you too Akihio."  
Something's wierd. Akihio wasn't there to see me off. I Ignore it and leave.

I arrive at home only to find Tohsaka working on her dagger. "I always see you working on that thing. What is it?" "It's the special conceptual weapon that mimics the second magic." "Operation of parralel worlds? You have something that powerful with you?" "Yeah, I've had it for awhile. I'm altering Zelretch's design as to inject magic instead of firing at it. If I can get this to work we can power our jewels without using our own energy." I immediately understand. Mana can be used from the air and pulled from many dimensions at once. So by using that process the dagger can inject the energy into the jewels. An infinite source of energy.  
"That would be immensly helpful for the war. So how close are you to finishing it?" "Oh, I'm already done, I'm just trying to allow it to both inject and fire how I please." She's done and already she's working on something potentially dangerous. "Well I'm going to start on dinner. We're having hamburgers." "That actually sounds good right before we go into a battle to the death. How romantic."  
Her sarcasm aside she enjoys the food and gets back to working on the dagger. I have nothing to do so I head off to bed and I fall asleep.


	3. Week 1 Day 3

I am dreaming. In my dream I see nothing but swords. Among the swords stands a single man. I cannot see his face. All that exists is the silhouette. This shadow is the only one who exists in this hill of swords.  
If this man is all that exists. Then what am I? The shadow stares at me. I turn my head and walk away.. The dream continues longer than it should. All I hear coming from me is a familiar voice I've never heard before.  
"I'm sorry."

The familiar dream ends.

I wake up, I call in sick. I have to prepare for the summoning tonight.

Me and Tohsaka spend most of the day preparing for the night. She takes out the dagger and a blood red jewel. She injects magic into the jewel so that it is at it's full capacity.  
We draw the circle in blood. The ground has already been established as a workshop. All that is left for us is to wait.

* * *

The boy enters the church. The priest is waiting there, the black figure is nowhere to be seen. "Alright, I guess it's time for your crash course in the world of a magus. Don't be afraid, try striking me."  
The boy complies since the priest is serious. I will my body to hit him but it stops. "I can't harm you either, that's the nature of our geas."  
"What I'm going to do will be painful but it wont kill you. You body has a rich amount of natural magic circuits so I will give you my Magic Crest. It has about 30 years worth of power. As soon as your body takes it you should be able to easily understand at least the basics."  
The boy doesn't understand it but he accepts it. The pain cannot be described. To the boy it feels like every nerve in his body is being ripped out. The boy's face contorts in pain but it is eventually over.  
"If it were anyone else you wouldn't have been able to take the crest. Now I will only be teaching you one technique. How to summon a servant. Take this sword."  
A rusted European sword is handed to the boy. The boy is immediately able to tell there is a lot of history behind the sword that would appear simple to anyone's eye.

The priest teaches the boy the single technique. Before long it is 11:50 PM.

* * *

"Ten minutes, then it begins. Are you ready? Izanagi?" I nod my head. The clock strikes midnight. I close my eyes.  
"Ye first, O silver, O iron, O stone of the foundation, O Archduke of the Contract."  
I take a deep breath.  
"Hear me in the name of our great teacher, the Archmagus Schweinorg, Let the descending winds be as a wall, Let the gates in all directions be shut, rising above the crown, and let the three-forked roads to the Kingdom revolve."  
The circle made of blood begins to glow. "Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Five perfections for each repetition. And now, let the filled sigils be annihilated in my stead!"  
I take another breath.  
"Set. Let thy body rest under my dominion, let my fate rest in thy blade. If thou submittest to the call of the Holy Grail and if thou wilt obey this mind, this reason, then thou shalt respond."  
I clutch the blood red jewel tight in my hand. The circle rises off the ground and becomes level with my head.  
"I make my oath here. I am that person who is to become the virtue of all Heavens. I am that person who is covered with the evil of all Hades. Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words,"  
I take one last breath.  
"come past thy restraining rings, and be thou the hands that protect the balance-!"  
The circle on the ground and the one raised to my head both glow brightly.

* * *

The vampire continues his chant.

"Yet, thou serves with thine eyes clouded in chaos, Thou, bound in the cage of madness, I am he who command those chains."  
A knight fully clothed in black armor appears before the vampire. He knows he has drawn the best card.

* * *

The boy finishes his summoning, despite it being his first ever time using magecraft it was a success. A tall strong man with black hair, sideburns, and beard appears before him. The man is clothed in iron armor held together by red leather straps.  
In his sheath is the sword that was used to summon him. The man unsheathes his blade. The rusted sword is now clean. The sword is gold and laced with red. The man sheathes his blade.  
"Which of you is my master?" The boy raises his hand slightly still looking in awe of this majestic warrior. "Then what of the priest?" "We have come to an agreement to not fight eachother until the end of the war. If there is a threat that's too dangerous for both of us then we are to work with him to defeat it."  
"Can that man be trusted? I do not feel his servant's presence. Meaning he's the master of Assassin." "Alright then, which servant are you?" "I'm Saber. I'm afraid I don't feel comfortable telling you my identity. You can figure it yourself on your own as we go along." The man disappears. "Alright then, hopefully we wont have to see each other again until the end then Kotomine."  
"Likewise Akihio." The boy leaves the church and heads home.

* * *

I don't see a servant appear. Even if it was a failure I would've been given a random servant regardless. It makes no sense. Suddenly we hear a crash from a room on the far side of the building.  
We open the door and in the rubble is a man clothed in red with tan skin and white hair. "Which servant ar-" but Tohsaka interrupts. "Archer!?" "Hmm.. yeah that's right. Damn even your student screws up the summoning."  
Archer stands up and brushes off the rubble from his clothes. "Archer, I command you to clean up this mess." "Yes. Yes. I got it Rin.." Wait.. could it be?.. this same Archer was Tohsaka's servant in the previous war?  
I speak up. "Rin, don't tell me he was.." "Yeah he was my old servant. I knew there was a chance but I didn't think it would happen if we used that same vague artifact." "So how strong is he?" "Strong enough, trust me. Unfortunately last time he had an amnesia problem."  
Tohsaka gives a slight glare at Archer. "Ah, yeah. My head's still a little foggy. I think it's your technique Rin. Your skills were definitely passed to your student. So what's your name." "Emiya Izanagi." "Alright I'll call you Izanagi then." I sigh. He seems difficult to deal with.  
But if Tohsaka tried to get me to summon him he must be incredibly dependable. "So Archer do you remember your Noble Phantasm?" "Just my swords so far Rin.."  
Something seems inconsistent here. "Why are you able to remember her name but not your past?" "Well you know how she is, It's kind of hard to forget about her with her uhm.." Tohsaka is glaring at Archer. "Great sunny personality!"  
Even Archer is afraid of Tohsaka when she's mad it seems. "Well we should probably go out on reconnaissance." I trust his judgment and we head outside. I head out to check out the school. At the divide I look towards the Mitsuzuri household. I see someone enter the house. It looks like Akihio.  
"What is he doing out this late.." I forget about it and head down towards the school. Archer speaks up. "Someone's watching us." "It's probably Assassin." Tohsaka replies. "Well he hasn't made an attempt on our lives yet. He's doing the same thing as us.." The black figure disappears and heads downtown. "He's gone." Archer says.

We arrive at the school. It's so different from day time. There aren't even traces of the after school activities. "What a shame. There's no one here. We should work our way back before that man trails us again." I nod my head and Tohsaka sighs. It seems she was actually hoping an enemy would show up.

We arrive at our house unharmed and followed by no one. Archer stays out on watch and me and Tohsaka head to bed. I go to sleep.  
With Archer I now have the power to protect that smile. I will bring this battle to an end. I will try to avert any tragedies. I will make sure there are no reasons for her to shed any tears.  
Now I let myself slip off into the familiar dream.


	4. Week 1 Day 4

I am dreaming. In my dream I see nothing but swords. Among the swords stands a single man. I cannot see his face. All that exists is the silhouette. This shadow is the only one who exists in this hill of swords.  
If this man is all that exists. Then what am I? The shadow stares at me. I turn my head and walk away.. After muttering some words I walk through the hill of swords.  
On the way I stop an stare at a single blade. The blade is gold with blue markings. Resting besides it is what appears to be a scythe. I take from the ground two blades.  
Both are black and white with their colors inverted from each other. The married swords are overshadowed by the previous two blades. But something about these blades seems so familiar.  
I remember now, these were the blades that Tohsaka taught me to make several years ago..

I wake up. I do my morning routine. Breakfast is quiet. Archer's presence alone has left her at a loss for words. The quietest morning I've ever had. I head off to school without saying a word. I reach the divide and meet up with Akihio and Kazumi. "My brother is such a pain. He said he had something to do but didn't end up coming back until two this morning!"  
"I told you, I had left something at the school and had to go pick it up." That's a lie. Even if we didn't head to the school he would never do something like that. I refuse to comment on it.

"So Izanagi you look tired too. Something keep you up?" "Yeah I guess. I probably went to bed at the same time as you." "Honestly you two. Even if it was only once you should get more sleep.. especially you Iza, you called in sick yesterday. You shouldn't push yourself like that!"  
That's right, I called in sick yesterday. Well I'm glad she cares about my health but.. "It's alright it was a false alarm. It was just allergies." "You allergic to something?" Akihio comments. I've told him myself that I have no allergies. He's probably already seen through me.  
"Well either way Iza I'm glad you're okay now." She's still calling me by that nickname even with Akihio around. Come to think of it she was using it with Ayako around too. Well I don't hate it, in fact I kind of like it, but it feels strange considering she's only used it when we were alone before.  
"Yo Iza." I can tell he's teasing me. "I need to see you at lunch. I'm sorry sis, but I need to talk with him alone." Kazumi nods. Akihio would never leave his sister alone unless it were something very important. I also nod.

We arrive at school and part ways at the gate. My classes pass by as fast as ever and before I know it it's lunch time. Me and Akihio head to the rooftop.  
"Izanagi, I need to know why you were out so late last night." "Uhm, well my mind was so busy I couldn't get to sleep and.." "Don't like to me Izanagi. I would've believed you if you made a more believable excuse to begin with. I only have one question.. do these two words mean anything to you?.. Master, Servant."  
I stare in disbelief. "Maybe I would have bought it if you didn't start wearing your sleeves lower the same time I did.." Akihio brings up his hand and shows his command seal. I reply and show him mine.  
"We are definitely best friends. We couldn't hide something like this from each other.." He says. "Sometime down the line we will have to fight. Only the servant needs to be defeated but still.." he pauses.  
"Make an alliance with me." these words are so simple. Yet they are the only words I wanted to hear from the moment I saw his command seal. "Of course.. this is probably the most casual alliance in the history of the war.."  
Akihio nods. "Saber seems to be satisfied with this too." "Well Archer probably wants to tease me right now.. You never told your sister about this right? It's the magus code to keep stuff like this a secret."  
"Even though I'm not a magus I completely agree." "Wait you aren't a magus?" "Nope, I was chosen completely at random. Apparently I have the innate 'magic circuits' to qualify for the grail. Though I was taught the summoning."  
"I wont ask who taught you but you at least had a finished summoning right?" "Yeah, actually it was perfect. The Servant just appeared in front of me afterwords." "Damn wish I could say the same for mine. Mine just crashed through the roof. He seemed perfectly fine though."  
"Well we should probably stop, we wouldn't want to reveal our Servants' identities to each other right?" I nod my head.

We begin to walk towards the stairs. "Find an excuse to stay over at my place for awhile.. I don't want your sister or mother getting dragged into the war.."  
"What about your Aunt?" "Oh don't worry about her, if anything she's more of a reason to stay there. Just being in her presence will probably quadruple your chances at surviving this war."  
We walk down and find Kazumi waiting for us. She knows to not ask us about what we were talking about. "You two finally look relaxed." I think of something. "Well to tell you the truth we're both lying about what happened last night. The truth is we were going to fight each other to see who was more worthy of protecting you."  
She blushes a bit. "But I don't want you two to fight.. uhm.. who won?.." Akihio picks up where I left off. "Well that's the thing, we just stared off. In the end neither of us even threw a punch." He chuckles a bit to make it believable. "Well I'm glad you two didn't get hurt but don't think about doing anything like that again! I don't want either of you to get hurt. I love you both-" She cuts herself off and blushes wildly at what she just said. "Fine, we wont fight, I promise we'll both do whatever it takes to keep you safe." "You know I think it's your protective brother complex that keeps her from meeting new friends Akihio." "Please stop it."  
"Well you're always right by her side. Rumors go around that you are lovers so guys wont approach her anyways with you around."  
"Please-"  
"Well I'm the only guy you didn't drive off."  
I take a step forward. "Just stop it!.." She begins to cry. She grabs onto my shirt and presses her scalp into my chest. "I can't stand to see you two fight.." Seeing her like this makes me want to comfort her and apologize. I'm using all my will to keep myself from embracing her. "She's right Izanagi.."  
"The only things we fight about are those we care about after all."  
She calms down and backs off.

We head to our classes and meet up after school. After the incident in the hallway we don't say a single word. After seeing Kazumi off Akihio follows me saying he was going to study together with me tonight and that he would be staying the night.  
"Well that clears you for one night." "I've been thinking about our argument. You think we've kept her from making new friends by always sticking with her?" "That could be the case but she's a delicate person and she's unable to stand up for herself."  
"Yeah in a way our presence is necessary.." "There shouldn't be a problem with only one of us around." "How about we make a deal? The loser of the war has to cut her loose." "And the winner gains the right to keep on protecting her in their own way."  
We knock fists together. We've made our selfish promise. We've about reached the Emiya household.

I enter the door and see Tohsaka working on the dagger. Tohsaka turns around and sees my friend. Somehow she isn't shocked or surprised. "Is he one of them?" She asks.  
"Yes." I reply. "Damn good luck on your part. Which one is he?" "Saber." "I see. With an ally like him you'll reach the end of the war." "One more question, is he the only one in his family?"  
"Yes." I reply. "Good. Then that makes things easy. And let me guess you need to find an excuse to be able to have him stay every night until the war is over?" Me and Akihio nod in unison.  
"Can you cook Akihio?" Akihio shakes his head to the side. "I see that's good, then you can tell them that you are fascinated by my cooking and are looking to learn how. Oh I'm really going to teach you by the way."  
Akihio looks happy but odd at the same time. "I think it would be a good idea to let him taste your food before you start to teach it to him." "Oh you're right." Tohsaka heads to the kitchen to prepare dinner.  
"Damn Izanagi, your Aunt is gorgeous." "Hey, your mom's pretty sexy too ya know." Akihio puts me in a choke hold and rubs my hair with his knuckles. It appears Tohsaka overheard my comment. "Yeah, she's about the same from when she was your age. I have no idea how she does it. The only thing that changed was her boobs got bigger." Tohsaka sighs.  
I'm completely embarrassed by my Aunt's comment.

About thirty minutes pass and it's time for dinner.  
Various samples of different chinese foods are laid all over the table. After dinner Akihio answers to Rin's proposition.  
"Please, master teach me everything." He bows down in respect.  
"Well that was my plan from the beginning. Anyways we are going to head out on reconnaissance in an hour, prepare. As for you Akihio, until the end of the war I'm going to start teaching you magecraft."  
"I understand master." "And please don't call me master. Just call me Rin."

An hour passes and we head out. Our target is once again the school. "Be on guard, Assassin likely only took one night to finish his recon." "Don't worry even if he did he still wouldn't attack us. It would be a problem for him if there were any servants specialized in killing surprise attackers. He's likely going to stalk only one master at a time for now."  
On the road down towards the school we run into someone. There is a man completely clothed in black standing in the middle of the road.  
"It looks like Assassin has ran away." The man turns towards us and a man of equal size wearing nothing but black armor steps out. "Three servants killed on the second night?" He appears to have mistaken Tohsaka as a Master.  
"Berserker, destroy them." Archer comes out to fight immediately. An armored man with black hair appears besides us. That must be Saber. Saber unsheathes a golden sword. "A golden sword.. is that?.." No I'm mistaken. The sword in my dream had blue in it. This one is laced with red. Tohsaka takes out her dagger. "Alright you don't have to beat him. You just have to stall long enough for me to create a bounded field to block out the noise.  
Berserker dashes forward at amazing speeds. Even though this is my first time seeing them fight, I know not even a Servant should be able to move that fast with all that armor on. Both Saber and Archer were both caught off guard. If the servant really wanted to then it could kill me and Akihio in a few seconds.  
Though completely devoid of sanity the knight still retains his honor. But more than that. His master is just sitting back and watching. "When you are done with the Servants merely break the Masters' arms and legs, I haven't eaten since your summoning." "A Dead Apostle?" Rin says to herself.  
I look around and only see Saber fighting the knight. "Damn did Archer run off? I don't blame him. This bastard's strong." Saber says.  
Strange, until just a moment ago he was being overpowered.. now it appears he's gained the upper hand? His movements have become sluggish but his blows are beginning to throw the black knight's sword back.  
I finally catch sight of a red figure on a distant building. I enhance my vision with magic and I see a metal bow. The metal doesn't look like anything that exists right now.  
"I am the bone of my sword." Archer says what appears to be a verse in an incantation.  
"Cadabolg!" A sword materializes into his hand. The blade has a spiral tip and is drawn into the bow. "Saber get away from him!" Tohsaka screams. Saber's blows weaken and his speed becomes greater than the knight's. After he gets out of the way a streak of light travels from the red figure towards the black knight.  
The "arrow" strikes directly, there is an explosion and the knight's armor is pierced. What is sticking out of him is the sword. The black knight takes out the blade as if it were natural.  
"Hah, I didn't expect you to be able to hurt Berserker like that!.. Cadabolg,.. that's the sword of Fergus.. however I never heard about him shooting it and it exploding.."  
The vampire examines the situation. "I see you simply projected it and overloaded it with mana.. that only limits you down to any magus in the Ulster Cycle.."  
Archer smirks. "Just your existence makes this interesting. I'll have fun trying to figure you out, as for the man with the blade I already have a good idea."  
The vampire glances towards Saber. "It'll be risky for both of us if we were to continue fighting now. I wont fight you and you don't follow me. Understand?"  
Our silence is a unanimous agreement. We may be able to beat him, but the losses we would take would far outweigh the gain. The vampire turns around without saying another word. He begins to run alongside his servant who disappears. The vampire's blond hair disappears into the night.  
"He couldn't drink our blood, meaning someone else is going to die." Tohsaka comments. "But we can't let anyone die!" "In this battle there will be victims! If we want to stop him from taking meaningless lives then we simply have to gain the strength to defeat him!"  
I stop. What she says is the truth. "If I could get into contact with the Mage's Association I could get information on him." "Tohsaka, can the association really get that information?" "We can contact a few of the ancestors, I'm sure that one of them would know about a 'vampire' trying to obtain the holy grail."  
When I think about it, it does seem very unusual. It's not uncommon for Dead Apostles to head to japan since the church is here, but why would a vampire enter a battle regulated by the church?  
"His goal is worth him revealing his position to the burial agency.. just one more reason to stop him." Akihio looks a little bewildered. "What the hell is a Dead Apostle?" I sigh. "A Dead Apostle is a vampire. That's all you need to know. All the details would be too much. He's weak against sunlight, drinks blood, and creates minions to do his work for him."  
"Alright, I think I understand. This is still a lot for me. I'm new to this thing." "Well that's 3 masters.. We just have to hope there aren't many others like him." Akihio looks like he wants to say something but doesn't.  
I speak up. "We should probably head home, even if we aren't that injured we have no idea the capabilities of the other servants." "Well we can go look for Caster tomorrow." I stare at her for a moment. "Oh I'm about 90% sure where Caster is hiding. Caster would build a workshop on a ley line. Preferably the one for the Holy Grail. The current one should be the church. The other probable location would be the Ryudou shrine. It's another ley line and offers a view of the entire town."

We start walking home, Archer and Saber dematerialize. We approach the divide. "Saber please check if she's safe." A few second pass. "Thanks." That brings ease to my mind as well. The victim isn't her. We approach the Emiya Residence.

We enter the door and collapse. We're all tired. I lead Akihio to an empty room and we both go to bed.  
I fall asleep.


End file.
